I lived in a suburb that had shopping and a city park in easy walking distance as a kid and it was pretty awesome. I now live in one where the nearest business is 2 miles away and it sucks. Both in the US and with wildly different experiences.
I also lived in a fairly dense residential area that was great as there were businesses in walking distance that were fun to go to, and another where there were businesses, but they all sucked so I had to drive somewhere else.
The real problem is the separation if residential and business zoning to such a degree that going to any business requires transportation.
Worse yet is when people claim to want to live rural but just end up in some distant suburb instead
Suburbs are part of the spectrum between rural and urban. Some population density and some open space.
The main problem with suburbs is that they are exclusively residential instead of a mix with commercial.
Suburbs are worst of both worlds. And american suburbs based on what I know about them are worst type of suburbs.
I lived in a suburb that had shopping and a city park in easy walking distance as a kid and it was pretty awesome. I now live in one where the nearest business is 2 miles away and it sucks. Both in the US and with wildly different experiences.
I also lived in a fairly dense residential area that was great as there were businesses in walking distance that were fun to go to, and another where there were businesses, but they all sucked so I had to drive somewhere else.
The real problem is the separation if residential and business zoning to such a degree that going to any business requires transportation.